38 at the Garden (2022) Poster

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10/10
More than meets the eye
rurouniedge14 October 2022
I love it! This isn't just story about one person. It is a story about a community. It is brilliantly done, where the experience of one individual is a collective experience that affect a whole community. Watching this, show us all that even the greatest and must successful person is hindered by sterotypes that affects us all.

It is great to hear the story of what is going on, but what makes this movie more different, is to hear the voices of those who is outside seeing these events, and how it affected them. How the event itself may not have been a huge action (even though 38 points against Lakers & Kobe is no small feat), can influence and impact many in the community. And create glimpse of hope. The true American dream.

This isn't just an underdog story. It is a story about someone who was put into a box, and that person proved that he is more than inside the box. And how a whole community felt the same way, and see him as inspiration of what one can be, if they just fought instead of follow the expectations.
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10/10
Powerful Story of Hope
cnpgxcbb14 October 2022
What Jeremy accomplished and still stands for should be a source of hope and inspiration for everyone. This film features an all-star cast of Asian American luminaries, including the inimitable Hasan Minhaj dropping some truth bombs. Frank Chi establishes himself as an exciting new voice in storytelling with this debut short. Laugh, cry and understand the Asian American experience just that much better. The animation also deserves a special call out, helping to deepen the story and add moments of sublime levity that punctuates the narrative flow in a really nice way. All around the positive vibes we all need.
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10/10
window into historic moment and its cultural impact
aaronmichaeltucker15 October 2022
As a casual basketball viewer during the time of Linsanity, I thought it was inspiring to see an undrafted player generate the confidence required to excel in the NBA. The doc gave me greater insight into Lin's foundation and where that confidence came from. Stories of people believing in themselves despite odds transfer a sense of pride we as viewers can tap into in our personal lives. It was beautifully shot and cut in a way that kept me wanting to hear and see what was next. Animations of crowds celebrating during Linsanity took me back to the era where he was going off. Amazing job to the entire team and recommend you give it a watch.
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10/10
Inspiring story
mysephora17 October 2022
Excellent documentary on an inspiring moment in history, all the hard work that led up to it, and how it fits into the context of the Asian American experience today. A moment in history when everyone was caught up watching an underdog succeed in defeating the titans of the game.

Great mix of interviews of fellow players and fans of the NBA along with animation segments to dramatize key moments. Here is an athlete who played at the top of his game while still managing to be a decent human being, imagine that, sometimes rare in professional sports. Should be necessary viewing for all the kids out there looking for motivation and inspiration in pursuing their dreams and ambitions against all odds.
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4/10
A little preachy, contrived, too short, but still fun
samsepilkrnelpanic24 October 2022
It's nice looking back on a fun time in sports, and I get chills looking back at a lot of the moments from Linsanity. But the quality of this doc is sub-par, and that's being generous. Youtube videos have done far better than this. While the main message of Asian pride and combating Asian hate is important and needs to be heard, it is also massively over-done, and gets tired. It's sad because a lot of people will tune this doc out because 2/3rds of it is solely devoted to that fact; we just want to re-live that awesome moment in 2012 that we all remember.

It's far too short. They could have gone far deeper with this subject but it's too surface level and focuses on the wrong things too much of the time. But since it's not great, maybe it isn't a bad thing that it's this short, because I just wanted it to be over.

Lin's individual "storytelling" is just strange. He isn't getting interviewed, he's reading off of a script. Really? Everyone else is getting asked questions, but he's just reciting terribly contrived lines with no depth at all and it feels so phony. But on the plus side, Hasan Minhaj, Shumpert, and Chandler gave some very nice bits of info that were absolutely fantastic.

Overall, not really worth a watch, I'd just recommend perusing various YouTube videos on Linsanity to get a more electric experience. Bummer :(
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10/10
A must watch that is both fun and educational
nicolemhill16 October 2022
I've heard of Jeremy Lin but I'm not a sports fan so I've never seen him play. It's amazing to see his talent and grace under pressure as a ground breaker. Jeremy had to kick the door down to play, just like Black players had to "break the color line" in the 50s to join the NBA. It shows how POC have to fight to access certain spaces. This film shows Lin's impact and why representation matters not just for the Asian American community but for us all. It's also fun to watch him dominate some of the NBA's elite players. I want to check out some of his games online. The filmmakers also spent time to highlight the rise in violence, hate crimes, and terrorism of the Asian community. This is such an important topic. Bravo for using this moment to educate and spread awareness!
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10/10
A well-told story about stereotypes and bias
luca_penati15 January 2023
You don't have to be a basketball fan to appreciate this profoundly moving, very topical short documentary. It goes to the heart of the problem of stereotypes, bias, and racism we are currently experiencing in this country.

But it's more than that, it's also the story of how parents can support their child's dream, and not theirs. It's an Asian American story that inspired and will inspire generation of young kids, and hopefully parents as well. Relive the "wave off" and imagine what that gesture can mean for people that doubt themselves, because they are not supposed to be good at something.

On top of that, it's awesome to relive Linsanity, that brief but epic moment of greatness and making the impossible, possible.
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10/10
Transformative
Yumi-215 October 2023
Jeremy Lin serves as a catalyst for transformation. This movie transcends his remarkable basketball skills, shedding light on his bravery and determination, which reshaped the perception of Asian Americans worldwide. As an Asian American myself, I lament not embracing Linsanity earlier due to internalized biases that hindered my curiosity about our shared identity. The film symbolizes healing and shattering stereotypes.

At only 38 minutes (clever but perhaps could have used a little more time to explore his heritage), I believe teachers and parents could use this movie to teach about racism in America, Asian American stereotypes, and the value of resilience and courage.
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2/10
Strong Nope
rightkeith13 October 2022
Thought I'd tune in to watch a quick interesting piece about an underdog story that captivated the nation for a few weeks back in the 2010's, culminating with the 38 point game at the Garden that led to the Lin-sanity phenomenon.

Instead, in the first ten minutes we get blasted with victim-bias and racism blaming for a below-average NBA player who wasn't given a fair chance due to being Asian.

There is no ignoring this is very cheaply done. It has YouTube quality production and a similar threshold for it's guest interviewees. Not sure who any of those people were, but having Jeremy himself on there whining about not getting fair looks for college scholarships was the icing on the cake. At that point, this 38 minute documentary became about 26 minutes too long and I was out .
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5/10
Not really about basketball 🏀
tchevyz7112 February 2023
I love sports documentaries more than watching sports. So many good stories out there about how someone beat the odds. This story is a perfect example. Incredibly inspiring thing to witness. It makes you want to get to work on things. It's also a prefect example of preaching and victimization. I remember right when this story broke and reading about it. I don't recall one single thing about race and soon i became a fan before seeing the guy play. Was i surprised, sure. Did i or anyone else care, no. But the way the story is told here, is not how I remembered it. Took a perfectly good story and made it about something else.
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1/10
Not a basketball movie
tonychan-499121 June 2023
If you're thinking that you'd be enjoying an underdog story with a basketball focus, look away. The whole movie is all racebaiting and was done incredibly cheaply. Five interviewees with no connection to Jeremy at all except for their skin color talks about how they were victims of hate crimes and how hard their lives are, while living in their million-dollar mansions.

Interviewee's stories were overly dramatic with the sole focus of trying to portray themselves as being disadvantaged by being Asian. As an Asian myself, I am just tired of all the self-victimizing, when US is the most socially progressive society I've lived in. None of the interviewees would be at their current wealth and position if the message they were trying to send through this movie was true.

The only saving grace was Jeremy sharing his own experience as a sixth-string player who made it to the top. The race stuff, I can do without it, but unfortunately, 35/38 minutes were about race. Another classic Hollywood racebait movie. Just rubbish.
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